Where to eat in Bari, Matera and Puglia – guide 2025/26

If you thought Patagonia was the only place I went on a culinary and sightseeing expedition – you were wrong! For the long weekend around Corpus Christi, I took a plane from Poznan to Bari, and then traveled around the area by train and bus, exploring the best that Puglia and Basilicata have to offer. The result is this guide, featuring 32 tried-and-true places for cheaper and more expensive food, drink, coffee and – of course – craft beer. I’ve included only my own honest opinions. Are you curious about where to eat in Bari, Matera and Puglia? Well, brew a coffee, pour an aperitivo and read on. Enjoy!

Interactive map: where to eat in Bari, Matera and Puglia

Before we get to the descriptions, here is an interactive map I’ve made for you so you can easily find your way around my recommendations.

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Zoom in to see all the restaurants, cafes and pubs in each city described. Filter the results by selecting and deselecting items in the legend.

10 dishes you must try in Puglia

Apulian cuisine is unique compared to the rest of Italy and offers dishes you won’t encounter anywhere else. Since popular low-cost airlines offer attractive connections, it would be a sin not to seize the opportunity and try all this goodness. What to eat in Puglia? First of all, fresh orecchiette pasta, made by local nonnas on the famous Strade delle Orecchiette (Arco Basso and Arco Alto) in Bari. It’s a unique opportunity to observe the artisanal craft of making the distinctive shaped pasta while strolling among the tourists loitering in the nooks and crannies of the narrow streets filled with stalls. You’ll get extra points with these nice ladies (or even a kiss – God be my witness) if you speak a little Italian. They will give you lots of warmth, kindness and love. And the specific dishes you must eat in Puglia? Catch a quick list below.

Focaccia barese

What is it? A thick, fluffy piece of yeast dough, generously coated with olive oil, garnished with tomatoes and olives, and seasoned with oregano. Eaten hot on the street, it replaces breakfast or lunch.
Recommended at: Panificio Fiore, Bari as street food or EVO Ristorante, Alberobello as a starter of a tasting lunch
Price: about €2 per piece at popular bakeries

Sgagliozze

What is it? Cubes of cold polenta sliced and fried in a huge cauldron of oil – crispy on top, soft inside, heavily salty.
Recommended at: Le Sgagliozze di Maria a Barivecchia, Bari
Price: serving €3.50
Unfortunately, although I stayed nearby, I did not try it personally! Recommendation from locals and my own observation.

Panzerotti

What is it? A deep-fried pizza dough dumpling, classically filled with mozzarella and passata; when you bite into it, the hot cheese “explodes” inside.
Recommended at: Stefy’s Cathedral Coffee, Bari (small), Il Rusticone, Matera (larger calzone size) or literally anywhere
Price: €1.50 a piece at Stefy’s

Frutti di mare crudi

What is it? Apulians love raw mussels, oysters, shrimp and sea urchins. They are usually served only with lemon and ice to accentuate the salty-sweet taste of the Adriatic.
Recommended at: the port in Bari (budget and local version), or at the bistro Pescaria in Polignano a Mare – it’s worth waiting in line!
Price: €11 for shrimp tartare

Tiella di riso, patate e cozze

What is it? A layered casserole of rice, potatoes, onions and mussels; all baked in a “tiella” (clay dish) with olive oil and parsley until a golden crust forms on top.
Recommended at: Terranima, Bari
Price: €12 per serving.

Spaghetti all’assassina

What is it? “Killer” spaghetti is fried raw in a cast iron skillet with oil, passata, garlic and peperoncino until it is partially burned and crispy. The result is a smoky flavor and a spicy crust of burnt pasta and sauce.
Recommended at: Al Sorso Preferito, Bari – the legendary establishment where the recipe for this dish was created!
Price: €12 per serving

Orecchiette con cime di rapa

What is it? Orecchiette are hand-formed ear-shaped pieces of pasta made from semolina (although I bought a gluten-free version made from rice flour from the famous nonna Nunzia!). They are cooked in one pot along with broccoli turnip leaves (cime di rapa), garlic, extra virgin olive oil and anchovies, allowing the pasta to absorb the slightly spicy, herb and garlic sauce.
Recommended at: Terranima, Bari (in winter and early spring – a seasonal dish).
Price: about €15 per serving

Unfortunately, as I arrived in Bari in the summer, I was not given the opportunity to try this iconic dish. In Terranima I was informed that if I found it somewhere, it would be frozen and that I should run away – so I pass on the warning!

Ragù di braciole

What is it? Braciole are thin beef rolls (sometimes also made with horse meat!) with garlic, pecorino cheese and parsley, wrapped and stewed for hours in a tomato sauce. Ragù can be served with pasta, but in my version the rolls were served in a clay pot along with the sauce, and accompanied by delicious grilled bread.
Recommended at: Osteria Le Arpie, Bari
Price: €15 per serving

Fave e cicoria

What is it? A velvety purée of dried fava beans served with braised wild chicory, drizzled with olive oil. It also comes in soup form. The contrast of sweet beans and bitter greens is quintessential to Puglia’s rural cuisine.
Recommended at: La Nicchia del Sasso, Matera
Price: €13 for a bowl with crispy toasted Matera bread and a sprinkling of dried crusco peppers

Sporcamuss

What is it? Squares of puff pastry baked golden, slit and stuffed with warm cream and then sprinkled with powdered sugar. I’m sure the Polish Pope liked sporcamuss!
Recommended at: Terranima, Bari – served with fruit slices
Price: €8 for a serving consisting of two pieces

Recommended addresses in Bari

Once you’ve learned the top 10 dishes and what to eat in Puglia – we move on to a matter of personal reminiscences and recommendations. Let’s start with the biggest hub – that is, Bari. I spent a total of four days and nights in the largest city on the Adriatic Sea, as it served as a jumping-off point for Polignano a Mare, Monopoli and Alberobello. I also visited many interesting establishments in Bari itself, as you’ll read about below. Here are the best restaurants of Bari 2025 and…. more. It’s exclusively a subjective assessment, unless I have indicated otherwise.

Pizza and street food

Bari stands for street food, and strolling through the narrow streets of Bari Vecchia, every now and then you will come across a window where you can buy something to eat quickly. The most popular spot is certainly Panificio Fiore, where you can start your exploration of the Apulian culinary scene with a delicious focaccia barese. In fact, however, you will find this iconic vegetarian delicacy in any bakery or restaurant. I have had the pleasure of tasting it in many places – including even those recommended by the Michelin Guide, where it appears as an appetizer.

Speaking of Bari street food, one cannot fail to mention panzerotto. What could be a simpler and more wonderful snack than pizza dough stuffed with cheese and tomato sauce, tossed in hot oil? It’s simply the definition of delicious. I ate mine in the plaza in front of St. Sabino’s Cathedral – in the garden of Stefy’s Cathedral Coffee shop, with the accompaniment of intense espresso, watching as…. vendors unloaded large dissected pigs, which they then threw on their backs and carried to nearby restaurants. The ban on cars causes considerable complications, but locals have found a way around this inconvenience!

At Stefy ‘s itself, I also witnessed a typically Italian scene: a group of German tourists orderedpastries with pistachio filling (pasticiotto leccese are popular especially more in the south – in Lecce – but you can also try them in Bari), but mistakenly received ones with cream filling. The complaint was handled in a style familiar from Internet memes. The bartender came out, blustered something in Italian, and then threw a handful of coins on the table, turned on his heel and walked away irritated. Yes – the customer in Italy is certainly not “always right”. And maybe that’s a good thing?

As for where to eat pizza in Bari – the choice is quite abundant. I opted for L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele, a branch of the famous Naples establishment that defined what napoletana pizza tastes like. I ordered a rather interesting item from the menu – an oval-shaped pizza, with a part put on top of the other. Sort of like a calzone and a pizza in one. The white base featured mozzarella, anchovy fillets, roasted orange tomatoes and basil. I have to admit that I liked the pizza, although it wasn’t the best I ate on this trip! However, to find out where to eat the best pizza in the area – you’ll have to hold on a little longer. Let me add that at Da Michele you can also order craft beer – of a special kind! It’s neither pils nor lager, nor even wheat ale. Brewed by the Kbirr brewery of Giugliano in Campania, Da Michele Red is a nine-percent strong imperial red ale! They have the guts – I respect that!

Vegetarian cuisine in Bari

Vegetarians in Italy have quite a bit of choice – because meatless options are plentiful everywhere. However, I have such a tradition that I also test out restaurants that are typically vegetarian or vegan. I found Flower Burger as an interesting option during the twenty-minute walk from Bari Centrale train station to my rented apartment in Bari Vecchia. They serve a variety of burgers in colorful buns, and a ton of classic sides like fries and potatoes. I took the Spicy Cecio option, which is a chickpea patty, lettuce, tomatoes, caramelized onions and hot sauce. It lacked both juiciness (I’ve yet to encounter a juicy vege patty) and crispness or spiciness. To slog through a burger – it was quite tasty, but nothing more than that.

I think a carnivore who likes all that meat dishes provide in terms of texture and flavor will not be thrilled. We still ordered the Cherry Bomb with lentil patty, cherry tomatoes and proprietary Rocktail sauce – which was also ok to eat being a hungry wanderer, but didn’t offer much beyond that. If someone doesn’t mind the lack of typically meaty qualities of the food (and some chefs – like at Lisbon’s Encanto – prove that it can be done), I recommend it. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for something that replaces juicy beef and crispy, smoky bacon with a ton of umami – you won’t find that here.

In addition to Flower Burger, Bari also offers other typically vegetarian and vegan trattorias and restaurants. You can check out a list of them at Happy Cow, for example.

Restaurants in Bari

Bari itself has one restaurant included in the Michelin guide (La Bul), but I left it for another occasion, focusing on traditional local places. The first of these was literally… right in front of my window. As we stayed in the basement of an apartment building on Arco del Carmine, directly from my apartment I walked out into the garden of Osteria Le Arpie restaurant. It serves traditional Italian dishes, and is located under atmospheric stone arches. Taking advantage of my lunch break at work – it was here that I ordered myself one of the flagship Apulian dishes: ragù di braciole. Usually these beef rolls in sauce are served with pasta, but in this cozy osteria delicious grilled bread serves as accompaniment. The serving was not very large, however, it was enough for a lunchtime snack. The place itself has that typical vibe of Italian customer service, meaning, for example, you won’t sit down for a drink at dinner time. You have to order food or you’ll be asked out!

Walking from Bari Vecchia to Lungomare, near Teatro Petruzzelli, you will find a truly legendary place. This is where the famous spaghetti all’assassina, whose history and recipe I cite in a separate post, originated. It’s called Al Sorso Preferito, and despite its location just a few hundred meters from the sea – it’s not a place swarming with foreign tourists. When we were there for lunch, apart from us, only one table was occupied, at which sat a group of Italian older ladies from the north, who had also come here to try the legendary killer pasta.

Assassina in the original version was exactly as I imagined: burnt, dry, crisp and very intense. The ladies at the table next to me expressed quite a bit of concern and asked me about the spiciness, but as a seasoned lover of spiciness I replied, truthfully, that there was no reason for concern. It’s worth taking a look and ticking off this classic. And if you want to share with your partner, it’s also worth ordering other items – such as fish dishes or the classic orecchiette con le cime di rapa, if you happen to be in the winter season.

An equally classic and legendary restaurant in Bari is Terranima, a place that looks a bit like a museum inside. At this establishment, I must definitely single out the service. The waiter who served us was genuinely interested not only in us, but also in the cuisine, its history, and offered both good advice and warnings. At the same time, he was not a pushy tip-hunter. It was from him that I learned that cime di rapa should not be ordered in the summer, as it is a seasonal product. Likewise, among the desserts, he strongly recommended the local sporcamuss instead of the semifreddo I suggested.

As a main course, I ordered an item found virtually only here: tiella is both a type of clay pot and a dish baked in it. It consists of as many as two types of carbohydrate side dishes: rice and potatoes (it’s surprising there is no pasta yet too!) and mussels, as well as cherry tomatoes and other side dishes. If you like heavy, starchy flavors, countered by the salty seafood, and love onions – you’ll be pleased. For me, the dish turned out to be a bit heavy, as I’m rather used to the opposite proportions of meat and carbs. However, the tiella could not be denied its flavor. I wholeheartedly recommend it, as well as trying other things at Terranima, such as the Apulian tasting menu or bombette di Martina Franca, which is roasted pork rolls with cheese, tomatoes, onions and olives – also a local delicacy of Apulian cuisine.

We’ll end the section called restaurants in Bari with Tam Tam Bistrot, the place where we dined before just heading to the airport on the way back. First of all – the Italian customer service, which for me is more of a meme than something that annoys me, gave itself away again. Well, I even think it would be helpful if here in Poland we could also have a more pro-worker attitude, and less servile towards of the customer. Imagine the following scene.

The time is about 12 o’clock, the bistro is empty, lots of tables outside. At one of them sits an elderly foreign couple. The waiter approaches and asks if they want to order food or drinks. They answer that they want beer and juice. At this point they are … asked to change seats. The waiter announces to them that they can only sit at a tablecloth-covered table for food and if they only want drinks, they can either move to a table without a tablecloth or have a drink at the bar! I will only add that even after they had changed seats, the waiter mistook their order and brought them two beers, after which he started waving his hands communicatively to me that they again didn’t like something – seeking understanding of his frustration in my eyes. A very interesting situation indeed.

As we came to eat, we were given the honor of sitting at a table with a tablecloth. And since in Italy I always try to communicate in my broken Italian, we gained extra points of respect in the eyes of the waiter. I ordered a puccia, which had been on my shortlist for some time. A puccia is a massive, flattened bun filled with a variety of toppings. Mine – a puccia barese – had Italian mortadella, pistachios, caciocavallo cheese and creamy straciatella in it. It turned out to be the perfect epilogue to Bari’s culinary explorations. For 8 euros I devoured the whole thing with tremendous flavor. I recommend this dish quite highly.

To go with my puccia, I ordered a classic Italian espresso and a negroni – a duo I can’t imagine any day in sunny Italy without (alternatively, the negroni can be swapped for an aperol spritz or a negroni spritz). As for the meatless option, my partner ordered trofie pasta with pesto genovese and cherry tomatoes and pecorino cheese. This less common shape of pasta – in a kind of cylindrical noodles, cooked perfectly al dente, went perfectly with the classic Genovese sauce. Not that region? That’s okay. Still delicious!

Coffee shops in Bari

For morning coffee, we usually went to Stefy’s Cathedral Coffee, which I’ve already written about in the context of panzerotto and a bartender throwing money as a response to a customer complaint. Here you’ll pay €5 for a cappuccino and pasticciotto included, and €1.20 for a classic espresso. So the price is typically Italian, even though the place is right under the cathedral and you can enjoy the taste of an Italian morning while watching tourists, locals and local pigeons pecking away at the previous day’s leftovers. If you like, you can also order focaccia, sandwiches (such as the classic Italian tramezzino without the crust), or spaghetti here.

Of the places farther off the main tourist trail, in the Murat district you’ll find Komodo Cafè – a place right next to the Flower Burger mentioned above, which is on the walking path from Bari Centrale station to Bari Vecchia. It’s a café rated 4.9 on Google, which is not common for places where newcomers flock to. This means that either the quality is amazing, or the mass tourist hasn’t discovered this establishment yet. So hurry up and be in the avant-garde. There you can drink both a classic espresso and a cappuccino or latte – as well as…. Belgian beer! To accompany your coffee, for example, you can order fluffy croissants or smaller cornetti with pistachios.

The best gelato in Bari

However, if you really want to drop into a legendary place and eat ice cream which people queue for, just like for Pastéis de Belém in the Lisbon metropolitan area, you must visit Antica Gelateria Gentile. Here they have dozens of flavors of gelato, large portions, in addition to many types of various sweets – both single servings and full-size cakes or pies. The restaurant is located right next to the famous street where the ladies make orecchiette, opposite the castle, right on the doorstep of Bari Vecchia. We went there almost every day. Pistachio, apricot, yogurt with cherries, nuts and whatnot. It’s really worth the wait to be tempted by this heavenly taste in your mouth, then sit on the castle wall and, savoring the Apulian sun, consume the wafer’s contents.

Bari – pubs with craft beer

I visited four craft beer pubs in Bari, one of which even has its own beer (albeit brewed not far from town) – so it’s not a full-fledged brewpub. Let’s start with the one closest to Bari Vecchia, specifically on the edge of the Old Town. BurBeero is an establishment located near the castle and the aforementioned ice cream shop. It allegedly serves only beers from Puglia (though as you’re about to find out – not necessarily) – so it seems like an excellent choice for those who want to immerse themselves in local flavors. On top of that, we have light appetizers and a rather pretentious staff, who poured me samples quite reluctantly, not sparing a comment that they hoped I’d like any of them and ordered a full pint. The vibe of the place I get was rather cramped. I had three beers there – two (Jazzkantine kellerbier and Margose gose) from the Birranova brewery of Triggianello and one (Amitrano bock) from MallaRipe of Pollenza. While Birranova is an Apulian brewery by all accounts, MallaRipe is a good couple of hundred kilometers to the north. Flavor-wise it’s correct, albeit without going crazy. Always better than a pastry sour or another hazy ipa.

The second establishment is located right next to Al Sorso Preferito, by the sea. It’s called Faros Beer and is a neighboring establishment to the twin Faros Cafe. It’s important not to get confused, because in one you’ll drink craft beer, and in the other you’ll have coffee, wine, aperitivo and macro beer. Here the staff was really friendly, we chatted a bit, discussed Grodziskie beer, I drank a few samples and decided on a coffee porter from the Officine Birrai brewery from Lecce (so quite local). Docker – for that is its name – turned out to be a great choice. I also learned that it is a collaboration with La Quarta coffee shop from the same city. All in all, Faros Beer is a great place for a beer near Lungomare. And if, however, you prefer aperitivo in Bari instead of craft beer – look next door to its sister Faros Cafe for a spritz for 4 euros.

Returning through the backstreets of Bari Vecchia I dropped by at Lo Svevo – Birra de Cucina. Accidentally, the cucina was already closed, because this establishment…. is only open until 10 pm! I did, however, grab a local beer, as this is the place that serves its own products. The beers are apparently brewed in the town of Modugno near Bari. I was tempted by a saison called Summer Porridge, brewed in cooperation with the Retorto brewery from Podenzano in Emilia-Romagna. It was a very correct representative of this rarely produced beer style. Too bad I had to drink it in a hurry, when the cash register next door was already being settled. Who has ever seen pubs closing at ten o’clock?! I recently experienced the same thing in London, though…

Finally – to answer the question of where to have a beer in Bari – I visited a place that is lively at night – for a change. La Ciclatera Sotto Il Mare is a venue that is a combination of pub, cocktail bar and restaurant overlooking the sea. Many people come here for wine and an evening snack, but at the same time you can get some really solid beers. The kind that people were queuing up for in Poland a decade ago. I’m talking here about Birra Baladin. I remember the craze when there weren’t many imports available here yet. I ordered L’IPPA – which is a classic English IPA – slightly amber, with a pronounced malty counter, yet pleasantly hoppy with a marked bitterness. Plus, it’s fermented with the brewery’s own yeast strain. I also managed to drink a second beer – LISA from Birra del Borgo, which is unfortunately owned by global giant Anheuser-Busch InBev. A pleasant lager in great company, with a view of the starry sky over Bari Porto. Anything more you need on a warm June weekend? I don’t think so.

Lastly, not necessarily a pub – and not with craft beer! But still, I have to mention it. El Chiringuito is a small bar located at the fish market in the harbor. It is here that you can buy fresh raw sea urchins and other sea creatures. In the pub itself, they serve different versions of Peroni. A big macro brand – but in the Non Filtrata version, at 30 degrees outside, sitting on a concrete bench in the harbor watching the Lungomare and the crashing sea – tastes like the best barrel-aged stout. I highly recommend this lifestyle.

Matera – hits in the rocky city

Matera is not in fact part of the Apulia region, but Basilicata. However, due to its distance from Bari airport, it is often mistakenly classified as an Apulian town. It is a unique rock town where, until the 1950s, people lived in virtually prehistoric conditions, living in caves hollowed out of the rock. Once called “the shame of Italy,” today – restored as a UNESCO heritage site – it is the focus of tourists from all over the world. In addition to open-air museums, hundreds of rock-hewn churches, or world-unique cisterns and waterworks, Matera also offers a wide range of culinary attractions and local dishes that were born among the limestone caves.

Pizza, panzerotti and street food

You know how all the tourists go to Italy and rush to Naples to Da Michele for the best pizza in the world? Well, look out. I’ve been to both Naples and the branch in Bari – and yes, it’s tasty, but the best pizza I’ve had in Italy is elsewhere. I still hesitate whether I enjoyed it more at Biga Genio e Farina in Palermo or at Matera – but as this memory is more recent – I tend to give the laurels to Il Rusticone.

The small, inconspicuous establishment, located near the main square – Piazza Vittorio Veneto – is always full of people. That’s its main drawback: it’s incredibly cramped and crowded, so there’s constantly someone poking, pushing, shoving you, and it’s really hard to get a seat at a table or even a ledge against the wall. I would also add that the opening hours of the restaurant are. 19-23:30! So it is a typical place for pizza late at night, not to say at night. I will say that to you, however – it is worth it. The rating of 4.8 out of almost 1500 reviews did not come from nothing.

The pizza dough here is incredibly aerated, with the biggest bubbles the size of a clenched fist. On top of that, it’s crunchy! The toppings superbly composed and the taste – like from outer space! And on top of that cheap – very cheap! For a basic margherita or marinara you will pay only…. 5 euros here. For that much in a large Polish city you can get a poor-quality kebab from a dog ground together with a kennel. For more fancy pizzas you will pay 8-10 euros, which is as much as in a medium-quality pizzeria in Poland for a basic pie.

In addition to pizza, here they serve proprietary sandwiches made from this delicious dough of theirs. They call them schiacciatina, which means flattened focaccia in the local dialect. Don’t confuse this name with the ready-made supermarket snacks that appear under it. They also serve panzerotto, but not in the same form as in Bari. The panzerotti here look like giant, puffed calzoni. It is the dough that is the main strength of Il Rusticone – so no matter in what form: pizza, panzerotto, or schiacciatina – it always tastes delicious. In addition, they also have kraft beer here (from Birrificio Crazy Hop from Tricarico, so from Basilicata), so this establishment gets Beer, Bacon & Liberty’s highest praise and the author’s gold recommendation.

The most famous street food place in Matera, however, is Panificio Paoluccio, a bakery located on one of the streets leading off the main square. It’s where queues line up for fresh bread in all sorts of forms. Here you can also eat traditional focaccia – maybe not barese, but definitely materana! I chose the version covered with a ton of roasted zucchini on top of melted cheese. Deliciousness and dirt cheap!

Cave restaurants

Right next to the legendary San Pietro Barisano church is the fantastic osteria La Nicchia Nel Sasso, rated 4.5 on Google, out of nearly seven hundred reviews. It has as many as four types of tasting menus and an a la carte offering. I was tempted to go here not only because of the excellent reviews and location, but also because of the fact that one of the tasting offerings was a vegetarian menu. Unfortunately – on the spot it turned out that the full set was not available, but we could still order parts of it from the menu. That’s what we decided to do.

As an amuse-bouche we got the legendary bread from Matera, which was made here in a prehistoric way for thousands of years. In open-air museums, you can find tools still in use in the 20th century that resemble those we know from archaeological digs. I ordered a glass of refreshing white wine to go with it, of course, as well as the main course. I was tempted by the traditional roasted wheat troccoli pasta in a broccoli rabe sauce, topped with croutons and local dried crusco peppers, accompanied by year-old caciocavallo from regional farms. Fantastic stuff, with a rich, varied texture and distinct flavor!

My partner, on the other hand, ordered the traditional fave e cicoria soup, which is made of fava beans and chicory cream, also sprinkled with crusco, and topped with a crouton of Matera bread. For dessert, I took a tiramisu in a glass, which blended perfectly with the landscape of the rocky town and contrasted well with the orange of the aperol spritz in the background. In addition, we tookthe “cuore morbido,” or soft heart, filled with pistachios and served on forest fruit jam. Greatness. Highly recommended!

Not far from yet another church (which really aren’t hard to find in Matera ), but on the other side of town, we went for dinner overlooking the sassi at sunset. Exchanging messages with the manager of Regia Corte prior to our visit, I had arranged to get an outdoor table with a perfect view of the setting sun. How great was our surprise when, in addition to the aforementioned sunset, we could admire…. crucifixion scene. Yes, this is no joke. On the other side of the ravine, on Santa Maria dell’Arco, Neftlix was filming a scene for its series about the life of Christ. That scene! So the dinner at sunset got an additional flavor – one totally matching my style. Completely unintentional, I swear!

As the poor actors hung half-naked on crosses in the background, recording more shots, our dishes arrived on the table. First, of course, there was the amuse-bouche – bread with olive oil, as well as crispy pastries and a piece of cucumber with soft butter. Unlike in Lisbon, there’s no trick here (when you touch extras, they are added to the bill). And since it’s a sunset dinner, champagne had to serve as accompaniment. Well, okay – sparkling wine – because it was Italian, however, still delicious.

However, THE day came and the ordered meals appeared on the table. This time I chose the meat option. It looked a bit like something between potato gratin, lasagna and pork belly – and I was close. A parmigiana made of pork belly layered with potatoes, served over tomato sauce, topped with basil sauce and sprinkled with horseradish came as a starter.

For the main course, I orderd U’Cutturidd – a signature dish of the town of Grassano, located in Basilicata. I mention this for a reason. Each dish at Regia Corte pays homage to one of the local towns by using typical ingredients and recipes. U’Cutturidd is a dish usually eaten at Easter, so even though it was the Corpus Christi weekend, the aforementioned Golgotha motif on the horizon dovetailed perfectly with my choice. Since it’s Easter, it’s a young lamb. Specifically, the most tender part of it: the tenderloin. Plus wild chicory, edible hyacinth blossoms, and some distinctive pecorino cheese. Heaven in your mouth and heart!

For the vege option, we got fusilli pasta in an eggplant-tomato sauce with ricotta. The creamy sauce with the firmly cooked al dente pasta of a solid shape (swirls) also tasted delicious.

This time we did without dessert – because how much can you do!

Cafes in Matera (and breakfast spots)

Shortly after arriving, we arranged a meet-up with our hostess in Piazza Vittorio Veneto under Bar Caffè Tripoli – which became our spot for morning coffee and breakfast in the following days. It’s an unpretentious place serving classic Italian snacks, coffee and cocktails. However, beyond the typical cornetto and espresso or cappuccino, I recommend looking around for something phenomenal that sits inconspicuously on the bar. It is a homemade iced tea. I happened to come across one full of fresh plums. It wasn’t the omnipresent over-sweetened drink from a big corporation, but a really delicious, refreshing, fruity beverage. Interestingly, at Bar Caffè Tripoli they recycle coffee grounds, using them to fertilize their plants. A noble and worthy initiative!

Before we left, however, on our way to the bus station, we stopped at another place. At the square next to St. John the Baptist Church, where one of the scenes of Bond’s No Time To Die was filmed, we ended up at Gahvè Coffee & Drink. In addition to eating delicious, crispy, juicy bruschetta here, it turned out that they also have their own beer. That is, brewed for them by Senzaterra, a contract brewery from the area. I couldn’t, of course, not order it. Since we literally had a quarter of an hour until the bus left, I took the bottle to go and consumed its contents while watching behind my back, to see if the carabinieri were not chasing me. Only then did I become interested in whether in Italy the law allows drinking beer in a public place. It turns out that this is a civilized country that values freedom, and it is perfectly possible to have a beer on the street. Learn, Polish politicians, learn!

I will add one more coffee-drink recommendation (because usually where they serve cappuccino, aperol is not disdained either). This is Madame Bracco, with a logo reminiscent of the one adorning Polish chocolate boxes from a few decades ago. We drank excellent red wine and coffee here, watching a wedding car with the bride and groom winding through Matera’s narrow cobblestone streets. The views in this city are truly unearthly.

Beer and drinks in Matera – where to?

You can actually have a drink in Matera wherever we had coffee and dinner – while there is one other place where we ended up later in the evening. It was on the first day, very late, and it was hard to find a place that would accept us only for drinks. Remember that in Italy if you don’t eat – it’s hard to get a table. These are reserved for those eating meals, even when the whole establishment is empty. That’s the custom. In the end, we managed to sit down at Le Botteghe – where at 10 pm we ordered tiramisu, a huge ice cream dessert and two glasses of local wine from Basilicata. If anyone is looking for a spot for late-night dessert – and a table with a view – I recommend this establishment. They won’t throw you out! I think…

However, I was more interested in the local craft beer than the local wines – which, of course, I also love, like anything good. There is a brewery called Birrificio B79 operating here. Their downtown venue is heavily activist, draped in all the trendy flags from college campuses and Facebook profile photos. It also has a large garden, which unfortunately had no seats available. The staff – very friendly – pointed out to us the possibility of squatting by the window inside, but then we moved outside, taking a seat by the street, across the garden.

A big advantage of the brewery is that it brews interesting styles that are not very popular in Poland – for example, scotch ale. Something these southerners have a fondness for these Scottish beers. Remember my article on Patagonia? The breweries there also brewed Scottish styles. In our country it’s a style practically absent from breweries’ portfolios. In any case, Redtuff, for that was the name of this Scotch ale, received my great approval. In contrast, the same cannot be said of FKK – that is, the premiere kellerbier, which was not even on Untappd yet. Unfortunately, very little cellar notes and such dull sweetness did not encourage me to return to this brew.

Puglia outside Bari – gastro pit stops and craft beer

Puglia and Basilicata are so diverse and beautiful that other towns in the region are worth exploring as well. Of course, having only a weekend at hand, there was only enough time to visit a few of them. Still, we managed to get at least a little taste of Italian beauty in Alberobello, Polignano a Mare and Monopoli.

Alberobello

Alberobello is a town famous for its distinctive conical houses called trulli (singular: trullo), built of limestone on a circular plan. Millions of tourists come here just to see the mass of white trulli, crisscrossed by narrow streets, with roofs covered with various bizarre symbols. Not surprisingly, the shape of the trullo has also become an inspiration for all sorts of artists – not only painter or sculptors, but also…. chefs.

Creative lunch from the Michelin guide in Alberobello

Alberobello is home to one restaurant recognized by the Michelin Guide – EVO Ristorante. Boasting a garden and located right next to the famous Trullo Sovrano museum, it stands out for its creativity of form and taste.

We chose a tasting menu (there are three different options to choose from – we took the vegetarian one), and started the feast with a citrusy Nerano Spritz Biologico. Then – as far as liquids go – it was mostly olive oils that appeared on the table. These – local and specially selected – were the accompaniment to focaccia barese, Matera bread or other breads, which could be dipped in the nectar from the olive groves of sunny Italy.

As an appetizer we had fried eggplant with solerod, roasted tomato, parsley sauce and powdered yogurt. After this delicious introduction, it was time for a fantastic main course. Since we’re in a region famous for orecchiette, they couldn’t be missed at EVO Ristorante in Alberobello either. However, the chef wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t offer a creative version. Our pasta was not shaped like little ears, but – in fact – huge ones – cooked springy, smeared with pistachios, seasonal vegetables and local ricotta. While these two items were indeed both fancy and delicious, the third course: roasted parsley root with fennel crumble, carrot gel and sour cheese was too sweet and heavy for me. Next, a small pre-dessert arrived on the table, in the form of ice cream with artfully arranged toppings – to make room for the real star of the evening.

Rarely can anything delight me in the culinary art anymore – but here it did. What’s more, I was delighted more by the form than the taste. The dessert – and in my opinion the star of the show – was….a trullo. The shape is one thing, but the very texture of the walls of this masterpiece of pastry art resembled a limestone rock that could be peeled away in layers, staining your fingers with white dust. Once opened, a deliciously sweet interior lurked inside, along with a sour fruit jelly to break up the sweetness. Part of this stage of the tasting was also a miniperformance: spoon-feeding us a mousse with sparkling powder – just like in the 1990s cheap instant lemonades. Lunch ended with 5 petit fours, including marshmallows, jelly and pasticiotto.

EVO Ristorante in Alberobello is an excellent place for a real feast of the senses – full of the crazy creativity of the chef. I highly recommend it!

Craft beer in Alberobello

Man lives not by food alone, after all. There is also craft beer! Imagine my surprise when, squeezing through the crowd of tourists between the trulli, I saw the sign “craft beer”. Of course, there was no option for me not to go inside. It turned out that there are at least two craft breweries in Alberobello. In Rione Monti – one of the city’s two main districts – there is a craft beer pub located inside a trullo. It serves beers from the Malart brewery, located in the same village.

I managed to taste three beers. A Czech pils called simply…. Pils was unearthly good. Really – I rate it as one of the better pilsners I have drunk. By the way, Untappd echoes me in this assessment, as this beer has an average of 3.84! For a light lager, this is cosmic. Beers from the Malart brewery generally receive recognition from raters, as Belgian Ale even got a bronze medal in the Untappd Community Awards 2025. I tried it and it is indeed a great beer. The third item the bartender poured me was a beer with the name Cream Ale. However, I was told that it was in fact a sour ale with thyme – and indeed – it tasted strongly herbal and quite sour. All in all – all three of Malart ‘s offerings are great beers and any craft beer lover who is in Alberobello should check out their unique micropub in trullo.

The second establishment I visited was the restaurant branded by Birrificio Bevessere. It is a large establishment located on the walking route from Rione Monti to the train station. I didn’t try the food except for some salty snack to go with the beer, but I managed to chat with the bartender and try everything he had on tap. And he had a lot! 9 beers! Unfortunately – here too Untappd was not wrong. The brewery’s average rating of 3.48 is perhaps not a red, but certainly an orange flag.

Most of the beers turned out to be either faulty or very average at best. I would classify Boreale (Session IPA) and Volver Bionda (Blonde Ale) as below average, Volver Rossa (Red Ale), Belgian Ale (Dubbel) were reasonably OK. Awful, on the other hand, were the not very tasty Pils and the sulfury Blanche (Witbier). So did I drink any beers at Birrificio Bevessere that were at least not bad? Yes. First – Golden Fever (Session NEIPA), as it was super fresh and very heavily hopped (the smell of an open package of hop pellet dominated), the aroma covered up any fermentation flaws – if there were any. Second – the sour beers: the Acida (gluten-free Sour Ale) and, above all, the Elisabrett (Brett Pils) – the best beer of this tasting, truly delicious! Well, but since the brewery’s best beers are sours and pils infected by wild yeast (purposely or not) – I guess it doesn’t need much comment.

Polignano a Mare

People go to Polignano a Mare to swim in the sea – or rather, to jump over the waves, as there was no way to swim any reasonable distance. The views, fortunately, compensated for the rather moderate opportunities to rejoice in the water. Since it’s the sea and summer – you know what’s next: ice cream! I went to two ice cream shops located around Piazza Aldo Moro – Il Mago del Gelato and Morea. I ate tasty gelato at both places, but Google strongly prefers Morea (4.8 vs. Il Mago’s 4.0). In fact, I only went to Il Mago because the line to Pescaria – where we were supposed to have lunch – was so long that I needed something to occupy restless legs, mind, and mouth.

Speaking of Pescaria – I went there mainly because I wanted to eat raw seafood. I wasn’t able to do so at the market in the port of Bari, so I was tempted by the shrimp tartare at this establishment. It’s a very popular bistro where you have to stand a quarter or two in line. In addition to the tartare, I ate a delicious sandwich with grilled octopus, smoked mozzarella, pesto, tomatoes, olives and capers. The panino was really delicious and worth the wait!

Pescaria also has beers brewed for them by the Birranova brewery, which I’ve already mentioned when I described BurBeero in Bari. La Bionda is a nice blonde ale, and the Pescaria IPA smelled a bit dank and stuffy. Average beers, but drinkable.

Monopoli

We arrived in Monopoli after already having swum and eaten lunch, and…. we found ourselves in a deserted town. It turned out that the town’s two main beaches were closed due to renovations, so in order to get into the water once again we had to walk a good couple of kilometers south to find a way to get into the Adriatic. Following the streets of empty Monopoli, we went to Titti – Il Bar, where you can drink coffee for 1.20 euros or a campari spritz for not much more, which is, in my opinion, much better than the classic aperol (because it’s more bitter).

In addition, we found a place totally to my taste – La Chiesa del Purgatorio – a purgatorial church where eight mummies are on display – including the founders of the church, the mayor of the city and…. a two-year-old girl who died in 1830. The decoration of the church is also mostly skeletons, bones and skulls. I recommend it to anyone who feels the vibe!

Before returning to Bari, we stopped by Vini & Panini, where, it turned out, they also had their own beer, specifically brewed for them locally by Birra del Console. What’s more – this type of beer is very much missed by me in Poland. An oldschool floral IPA, with light caramel malty backbone, quite decently bitter – as if 2014 never ended. In addition, a coffee with a solid crema rolled in, as it should in Italy, as well as a pretty tasty hot panino with ham and cheese, and a side of potatoes wedges. I don’t know why they had the Swiss flag stuck into them, but I’ll take that as a good omen.

Summary

And so passed my Christmas trip to Puglia and Basilicata. Bari, Matera, Alberobello, Polignano a Mare and Monopoli are beautiful places full of wonderful views, delicious food and pretty good beer (with some exceptions). You won’t experience customer service straight out of American movies here, but maybe that’s for the best? Maybe it’s a sign that we should chill out more and not treat ourselves first and foremost – being a guest of the restaurant – like an entitled douche? Besides, it is confirmed once again that by knowing even the basics in the local language you can get much more sympathy and kindness than by presenting an entitled and closed attitude of a typical foreign tourist. I love Italy for its vbie and everything about it. I will probably return to Puglia and Basilicata again – after all, so many undiscovered cities and towns there are waiting for me. And what is your favorite place in Italy? Let me know and…. a presto!

FAQ

How much does focaccia barese cost in 2025?

In Bari Vecchia bakeries (e.g., Panificio Fiore) a piece of focaccia costs €1.80 – €2.50, and in restaurants it is often served as an antipasto priced at €3 – €4.

Can l I eat orecchiette con cime di rapa in the summer?

Rather not. This is a seasonal dish (November → March). In summer you’ll only hit the frozen leaf version – it’s better to go for other fresh pasta.

Where to try spaghetti all’assassina in Bari?

The most authentic version is given by Al Sorso Preferito on Corso Benedetto Croce – this is where the original recipe was created.

Is it necessary to reserve a table at Terranim?

On weekends and holidays yes – best to call the day before. During the week at lunchtime you can usually find a place without a reservation.

How to get from Bari to Matera by public transportation?

Most conveniently by train Ferrovie Appulo Lucane (≈ 1 h 40 min, ticket €5.10), but the line has recently been under renovation! Alternative: bus from Bari Centrale (75 – 90 min).

Is it necessary to have cash in Puglia?

Cards work almost everywhere, but in fish markets, on buses and at street-food it is worth having €10-€15 in cash.

Where to drink craft beer in Bari?

Proven multitapes: Faros Beer (promenade), BurBeero (by the castle) and Lo Svevo (own beer). Local breweries Birranova and Officine Birrai dominate.

How much is coperto in Puglia restaurants?

The standard is €1.50 – €2.50 per person; in fine-dining establishments (such as EVO in Alberobello) the coperto can reach €3 – €4.

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